The Holder of Milgram
In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask the clerk to speak to "The Holder of Milgram" A look of ire will suddenly cross his face, and he will draw a revolver from under the desk. Do not attempt to dodge the bullet as he pulls the trigger. It will hit you squarely in the shoulder; a blow that will be sure to topple you over. As you fall, your eyes will fill with blood. Close them quickly, lest you fall blind, regardless of any Objects you may possess. You will feel yourself falling for what feels like hours, and a voice will be attempting to speak with you. Do not give it such an honor; to do so would be welcoming its voice and this void for the rest of eternity. Once the voice falls silent, open your eyes. You will be standing in a whirlpool of blood. In the red tides surrounding you, you can see millions of humanoid creatures, fighting one another in a sick attempt to rend each other limb for limb, to devour their opponents. Calmly walk through the center of the whirlpool. Say not a word. Those who fight here will not notice you so long as footsteps are the only sound you make. Should they notice you, what ill fortune, they would have no qualms with adding another combatant to their eternal, cannibalistic brawl. Continue to walk until you are no longer surrounded by the creatures, marked by the sight of a man standing in front of you with his eyes closed. Ask him, "What is it that drives Them?" He will look down to the floor just short of your feet. Follow his gaze to see a knife. Pick it up and, quickly now, stab him in the chest. This is all based on precise timing, you see. If by some misfortune, you are too slow, he will begin to eat you in a rather painful manner, until there is no meat left on your body. Considering that, in this place, you regenerate, this process could take a gruelingly long time. If, however, you succeed, he will clutch his wound as blood gushes out onto the floor. Repeat your question, and his eyes will finally open. At the moment you see his empty eyes, you will feel something attempting to pull you back. Struggle against it, and shout at him now, "What is it that drives Them?" He will begin to speak of otherwise unspeakable things; of horrible experiments, of obedience, of infection, of hunger, and of blood. While the man speaks, you will feel the sensation of your blood literally boiling while a knife cuts into you. Ignore the pain and listen to his story, or you will never gain the Object from this Holder. When he is done, he will take the knife from your hands and begin to clean it with a simple white cloth. He will hand you the blood-soaked cloth to you while saying, "Infect another as you see fit, for you are already one of us." Relent from your struggle against the pulling, and you will see the whirlpool flash by you at a great speed. You will wake up in exactly the same place you were earlier when you were shot, and you will be bleeding profusely from your still fresh wound. Reach into your pocket to find the white cloth the man handed to you, now cleaned. Place it under your shirt against the wound to stop the bleeding. Quickly and calmly, get up and leave the asylum. In fact, leave the city behind, but remember to maintain a calm demeanor. You do not want the guards to notice your erratic behavior, and hold you down for it, do you? Perhaps a worse fate would be staying in the town itself, however, as the ambulance is coming for you. They would pick you up, and take you to a place where the word "torture" does not begin to describe the conditions. Don't forget to get the bullet removed from your arm once you have left the city, though! Surely, you'd get a rather nasty infection from that. The blood-soaked cloth is Object 287 of 538. Now you have no choice but to continue on with your grim quest.